


From the Grave to the Cradle

by SakuratheFoodGuru1991



Category: Free!
Genre: Altruistic Tachibana Makoto, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angel Tachibana Makoto, Angst, Child Abandonment, Depression, Dirty Talk, Future Adoptive Father Sousuke, Kisumi's a dork, M/M, Makoto's a dork, No character bashing, One year after Eternal Summer, Rimming, SeiMako are bffs, Seijuro's a dork, Sousuke is a dork, Yandere Tachibana Makoto, attempted suicide, future smut, one time thing, very slow build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-13
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-17 17:44:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3538412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuratheFoodGuru1991/pseuds/SakuratheFoodGuru1991
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are a few things that Yamazaki Sousuke never would have picture himself doing at the young age of 19.  The first being not swimming and having his dream crushed.  The second one being thinking suicide as the only way out of his physical and emotional pain.  The third was becoming an adoptive father.  And the fourth would be falling in love with a former best friend of Rin, the boy who crushed his heart.  But it turns out the third and fourth are the best things that could ever happen in his life and make him see that the world is not as bad as he initially believed it to be.</p><p>Tachibana Makoto is a sweet altruistic boy who suffers from a broken heart and tries to find comfort with the help of his best friend Seijuro.   Sousuke suffers the same as well.   What will happen when these two boys who share the same trait but have completely different personalities finally meet?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sousuke's Calling

**Author's Note:**

> I know. A lot of you will probably think "Wtf. This does not sound like Sousuke!" But more about what happened in the year after he left Iwatobi will be reveled as the story goes on. I wrote this story during a time of depression, so I hope you don't judge too harshly.

Main Cast Featuring:

Support cast includes:

as well as in the future:

“Has it really come down to this? Is this really the only way I can free myself from the physical and mental pain?”

These words were spoken by Yamazaki Sousuke as he looked out into the Tokyo bay with a quivering lip and stifled tears. He truly did not want his life to end, but he just could not bear living with the pain that tore his insides. Suffering a broken shoulder that worsened with each passing second and nowhere to turn to without being disowned for his disappearance of over a year after graduating from Samezuka Academy, Sousuke knew it was time to make his departure from the cruel world.

There are two things that Yamazaki Sousuke never would have imagined himself doing at the young age of nineteen. Actually, there are far more other things he can’t picture himself doing at the prime age of making decisions for his future, but these two definitely merited the spot at number one and number two. The first one sure as hell put a huge damper on his outlook on life and left him viewing life through the perspective of it being a waste of time…like he had lost all purpose. It was not being able to continue his passion of swimming.

Up until the age of 8 in 2004, Sousuke swam primarily as a way to form friends and meet new people. Since he had to unfortunately live the life of being the only child, he loathed the solitude of entering the house without a brother or sister to talk to. Sure, his parents would shower him with their undivided attention when they weren’t focused on their job, but it didn’t keep him happy. When returning home from kindergarten, he would periodically ask his parents why he didn’t have any siblings. The answer was too complicated to explain to the six-year old boy and his parents needed to find some way to cheer up their son. One day when his parents were taking him home from school, they saw the opening of the new YMCA and got a bright idea. Within two weeks, he had started his first lessons when he was six years old at the new YMCA in the suburbs of Tokyo before moving to the Tottori Prefecture just as he was entering the third grade.

They moved to a small town on the outskirts of Tottori city and went to a place called Sano Elementary School. Sousuke was a shy boy back then and found it rather difficult to making new friends, especially in an area so small. He was used to living in the nice house just mere minutes from the bustling city life of Tokyo and almost resented his parents for moving to this town that pretty much no one knew except the sparse denizens that dwelled the rural settlement. He didn’t want to be lonely, but he wasn’t exactly gifted with introducing himself. After all, he did have minor autism, as he found out when he was seven years old, and his parents were informed that he would possibly struggle in the area of making friends. He would just sit there idly in classroom staring off into nowhere, wishing he was back at Tokyo with his friends at the YMCA and swimming away to their hearts’ content. The dark brown-haired boy knew he had to be the one to make the first move in acquiring friends, but he always felt scared that they would not like him.

One day at recess, Sousuke was just sitting against the wall of the school, watching as the other kids played and laughed. His teacher greatly encouraged him to go join them, but after sharing a brief exchange of words with the fellow classmates, he would withdraw almost embarrassingly and sat near the teacher. He liked her quite a bit and she would say encouraging words for him to give it another go. He was thinking it over again and he nodded that he would. Just as he stood up, he saw a boy with maroon hair approaching the two of them. Sousuke probably knew the boy probably was just going to ask the teacher something and shrugged off any hope. But then…

“I’m Matsuoka Rin,” said the maroon-haired kid as he extended his hand to Sousuke. “I’ve noticed you sitting there for the past few weeks and I thought that it must be awfully lonely. Mind if I sit down?”

Before Sousuke could even get the chance to voice his opinion, Rin sat down next to him. “Um…hi…” chirped Sousuke hesitantly.

“What’s your name?” asked Rin.

“Y-yamazaki…Sousuke…” replied the dark-haired boy. “Nice to meet you…Rin….”

“You’re not from these parts, are you?” asked Rin. “Where are you from?”

“Tokyo,” replied little Sousuke.

“That’s so cool,” replied Rin with a big smile. “I’ve never been to Tokyo, but I have always wanted to go there. Did you, by any chance, see the Olympic  
stadium that held the Olympics many years ago?”

“Yes, on a field trip last year, actually,” answered Sousuke. “My favorite part was at the end, we got to go swimming in the pool that they used!”

The teacher looked at the two boys who were chatting away and smiled that Sousuke was engaging in conversation.

“Really? That is so cool, Sousuke-kun! You are incredibly lucky, you know. Maybe one day I will be at a pool like that.”  
Sousuke tilted his head slightly and blinked his teal eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I wanna become a professional swimmer one day like Mark Spitz or Gary Hall Jr., be on TV, and have a gold medal for my family to see! I’ve already won a few trophies from tournaments in my age group and my coach says I have a good chance at my rate.”

“Oh…” replied Sousuke somewhat bored. Rin could tell that he wasn’t that impressed. “Is that all you want to do with your life when you grow up? Just be in the Olympics? What if you don’t succeed?”

“I’ll make sure it happens, Sousuke-kun. Do you know how to swim? What’s your dream?”

“Yes, I know how to swim, but I’ve never done so as a competition. I don’t know if I have a dream yet. I’m only nine.”

“You know what I think?” asked Rin with a big smile on his face.

“What’s that?” asked Sousuke as the smile on Rin’s face radiated to him and perked up his broody attitude.

“You should join the Sano Swim Club! You wouldn’t be alone cause I’d be right there with you! What do you say?”

“I’ll have to ask my parents.”

From there on, Sousuke’s attitude towards the sport of swimming had made a complete 180-degree turn.  
………………  
The second thing that Sousuke never imagined doing was taking his own life, and none other by his own hands so to speak. He had been planning it for about three weeks after careful consideration. He wanted nobody to know about his eternal disappearance; the reactions from Rin and Sousuke’s parents. His parents……How would they react to the death of their only child? Them being devastated was a drastic understatement since his mother and he were so attached. Knowing her, she would probably have to be institutionalized and it would all go down from there. But, it wouldn’t be his problem thereafter. He had written a short letter that stated he had full control of his decisions and wished the best of luck as he would hope to find a new life in North America. He sent that to his parents a few weeks ago, but he did not put the address of where he was so they would not be looking for him.

Sousuke looked out at the open ocean, the waves gently crashing on the distant beach. He had planned this for a while. This was a secluded area that he monitored from a nearby forest to see the pattern of people coming and going so that he would know the proper moment to execute his plan. He knew that the place was practically deserted by about 7 p.m. and he knew that he would not be disturbed. He chose this spot because it had a beautiful view of the Tokyo skyline and the most beautiful sunsets were seen from this spot.

Sousuke looked around and took in the scenery one last time before he would give his life to the ocean. He reached into his backpack and took out a heavy cinder block that he had randomly found lying on the ground a few days ago and took out the rope he bought recently at a nearby hardware store. He tied the rope firmly around the cinder block that he would toss into the ocean while the other length of the rope was wrapped around his ankle. Although it would not be quick since he had efficient lungs, maybe he’d get lucky and get attacked by some creature that lurked under the murky waters.

“I brought this on to myself,” said Sousuke to nobody. “If I hadn’t been so fucking persistent in pursuing my dream as becoming Japan’s legendary swimmer who would be remembered for generations to come and held the title as the man who could even surpass the great Michael Phelps, I may not be in this predicament. God, please have mercy on my soul. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better person.”

As a tear gently rolled of Sousuke’s cheek and made a small ripple in the water. He lifted the cinder block and was about up to his waist when suddenly, a rustle echoed in his vicinity. It sounded very close, actually, and hoped it was only an animal. A spectator who could not inform the other citizens of Sousuke’s sin.

Sousuke shrugged it off and proceeded lifting the object. It hurt his shoulder like hell, but soon…all of that would go away.

Then, it happened again. The rustling resumed followed by a wailing. Sousuke was honestly quite surprised because it sounded…eerily human…Sousuke did not want anyone to reach out to him and talk him out or one of the more religious types would come across and say he would go to hell for his actions, so he decided that this may not have been the opportune moment to commence this plan.

For the pure sake of curiosity, Sousuke set down the cinder block on the ground with a loud clunk! and went over to the source of the sounds. It did seem rather odd, though, that someone would be out at this time of the evening in a location that hardly anybody visited. It sounded like it was coming from…

“Oh…my…God…” murmured Sousuke as he moved the foliage of a bush that was by the bench he had been sitting on earlier. Underneath the limbs of the bush lay a human baby, completely defenseless. Sousuke had no idea what to feel: shocked that someone was so cruel to do such a thing, sad that this baby was just lying here in the cool March weather, or enraged. The baby was moving its extremities slowly and cried weakly, possibly on its last breath. How did Sousuke not notice this baby before hand? Obviously it had been taking a nap and was quiet the whole time Sousuke was in deep contemplation, but still…

Water began to form in Sousuke’s eyes and a tear began to roll down his cheek. Contrary to the popular belief that had spread to the whole swim team at Samezuka, or pretty much anybody within earshot, Sousuke did not have a black hole where his heart was supposed to be. Pretty much everybody had made him out to be an apathetic jerk who unleashed his accumulated anger due to his crushed dream at anyone who would so much as look at him the wrong way. But no, Yamazaki Sousuke was not the heartless bastard that he was made out to be and seeing this baby on the ground was just…depressing. Sousuke thought he had seen it all in the world of depression, but he was 19 and this baby didn’t look anymore than a few weeks old.

“Who the fuck...” Sousuke muttered while looking around to see if there was anybody to ask for help. The baby began to cry its sad song of fear and parental attention. Sousuke never had been the most fond of children; he remembered having been put in charge of taking care of his bratty cousins of seven years of age for a week when he was a second-year student in high school. They lived in the neighboring town and Sousuke’s parents as well as his cousins’ parents were out of country for business and would be handsomely compensated with ¥30,000 to take care of them. He was one day away from ripping his hair out of insanity from tolerating them when they all returned.

But this…this was different. This baby had just started life not too long ago and Sousuke did not think he could live with himself in the afterlife if he committed suicide right there and now and just left the hopeless baby to die. Sousuke had to do something immediately. He looked at his hands and figured they were not decently clean to handle the baby since he had rubbed himself off for the supposedly final time not too long ago, so he put on a pair of gloves he had and took out his Samezuka jacket. He hadn’t washed the jacket in about five weeks, but it was good enough. He laid the jacket across his stomach and let it hang over his stomach and Sousuke extended his arms, wincing slightly at the pain it caused in his shoulder, and picked up the baby and wrapped it in the black jacket. The baby stopped fussing and was cold to the touch. Sousuke had never held a baby before, but considering the fact that it had stopped crying, he must have been doing something right.

“Hey, little fella,” said Sousuke in a calm voice as another tear rolled down his face. The baby began to cry again and Sousuke gently rocked the baby back and forth, ignoring the pain it caused his shoulder. “Shh, shh, it’ll be okay, I promise,” he said in a gentle tone as he calmed the baby down. He turned around and saw the cinder block and the attached rope. He nudged it with his left foot and they fell into the ocean with an average-sized splash. This baby had no one in the world but Sousuke, and he sure as hell was not the kind of person who would ignore a situation like this.

Now the question remained: where to go? The police station? No; more than likely, they would label him as a suspect and no telling how long it would take before medical care arrived for the baby. The hospital! He saw one a few blocks away. He picked up his backpack, swaddled the baby up for warmth, and ran into the night as fast as he could. It was a race against time for this young life form and he did not care about the looks people were giving him.

“Outta my way!” growled Sousuke to a man who was slightly shorter than he was. The pedestrian gasped and turned around as he watched Sousuke’s figure fade into the distance.

“Was that…No…could it have been?” whispered the pedestrian quietly while fixated on the direction Sousuke was going.


	2. Sousuke's Sei-viour

“Yamazaki-san…” said the pedestrian’s voice with a sad expression.

“Huh?” said Sousuke looking around. “Did someone say my name?” Was he hearing things? Yamazaki wasn’t exactly an uncommon surname, but the fact that someone said it kept him wondering…

Sousuke ran into the night and ignored the worsening pain in his shoulder. But the pain of the baby dying in his arms would make the trouble of his shoulder look like a blessing in comparison. He ignored the crowds of people that flocked the streets of Japan’s largest city as they tried to hide their glances in the darkness. Apparently to none of them did it strike as unusual that Sousuke was struggling to run with the baby since to them, he was nothing more than a face in the crowd whose doings were of no interest. If only someone could reach out to Sousuke…

“For fuck’s sake, get out of my fucking way!” shouted Sousuke to a group of teenagers who were loitering haphazardly in front of an abandoned building that was about two blocks of the hospital. 

“Move to the other side of the fucking road, asshole!” shouted back one of them. It was evident they were drunk and Sousuke was not in the mood for their shit. He had to make a long turn to avoid the large crowd and ignored them as some of them gave him the middle finger. 

After about four minutes, he found the destination: the hospital. He dashed in with all strength that remained and even almost collided with someone who had an I.V. fluid pole with wheels. Sousuke normally would apologize for such behavior, but this was a dire emergency. He rushed to the receptionist counter and without any regards to the loudness of his voice,

“Please! This infant needs help! I found it lying under a bush on the edge of town!” With the entire lobby watching him, Sousuke burst into tears. He did not care what they thought and watched as the woman behind the counter call for a stretcher and a team of specialists. Once that was done, she turned back to Sousuke and said,

“You found this baby? Did you see anybody in the area who may have left it?”

The baby began crying and the teenager patted it gently and heard something crinkle. Curious, he continued patting until he felt something. It was a paper in the side of the baby’s diaper. While he held the baby with his left arm, he opened the piece of paper and read it out loud since it probably provided a clue to the baby’s parents. The poorly-written kanji and hiragana must have indicated that the person was in a desperate hurry.

“If you find this baby alive, you can keep the little cunt, as my asshole of an ex-boyfriend said. I cannot afford this child and I am sure that you will be a better parent to her than I could at the young and confused age of just 15. Best of luck.”

Sousuke felt another tear roll down his cheek. Today was the first time he had cried in at least four months. Never in a million years would he find himself in this position, but he felt like a good Samaritan on the inside. 

Sousuke rocked the baby as she began to fuss. What has the world come to when fifteen-year-old girls get impregnated and leave behind their child in such an inhumane fashion? They could have at least dropped her off at an orphanage, but still, Sousuke was all that was this baby had in the world. Two deadbeat parents who would’ve left the baby food to wild animals if they had so desired. 

“Y-yamazaki?” said a voice. Sousuke immediately looked up. He didn’t even say anything, but how did someone know his surname?

“W-who…” muttered Sousuke as he saw the face. Red hair, tan skin, a giant grin on his face…He looked vaguely familiar but he had a few features he didn’t remember seeing, assuming this was the person he thought was. He had on a pair of designer glasses and a silver stud earring in his ear and seemed to have more muscles. Not that   
Sousuke could really tell since he had never really analyzed this guy and he was wearing scrubs.

Sousuke decided to take a shot in the dark and said, “M-Mikoshiba?” He’d be beyond embarrassed if this was not the guy whom he was thinking of. The young adult had piercing amber eyes that seemed to smile back at Sousuke. How the hell could this guy be smiling so much when Sousuke was holding a child on the brink of death?

“Yeah, I’m Momo’s older brother, Mikoshiba Seijuro,” explained the taller male. He took the baby and set her on the stretcher and turned back around and said, “I’ll come back and chat once this baby gets situated. I’m about to go on break, anyways.”  
Sousuke just nodded and watched Mikoshiba wheel the baby past some secure doors. The teal-eyed male tried to think back at some of the previous conversations he had with Momo. The blood orange-haired boy had a habit of sometimes getting on every last nerve of Sousuke, but he knew he had a good heart. Sousuke remembers Momo whining and complaining about Sei being far better looking and relatively charming to the ladies. Sei was very hearty and had a signature grin that supposedly made girls’ hearts melt, and if that smile he flashed Sousuke was it, he highly doubted that. Then again, it would be hard to judge since he was straight, but he did admit that Sei had nice teeth. What else had Momo said? Right…the boy said his ni-chan wanted to be a surgeon. Of his graduating class of 384 boys, he was number 42, placing him in the 89th percentile of his class, a surprising accomplishment considering how many hours he had to dedicate to coaching the team. Sousuke thought it was weird that such an athlete would want to pursue such a field, but Momo also explained that Sei wanted a backup plan in case he could not excel in next year’s Olympics. Or even make the final cut to join them. At least he had a better future in store than Sousuke, who was number 178 of 347 graduates, plus, his shoulder wasn’t busted. He felt embarrassed compared to Rin who was in the top 30% at number 102. All of that didn’t matter now and he wanted to crawl in a hole and isolate himself from it all.

“So…Yamazaki…” said Mikoshiba as he returned and sat in a chair a few away from Sousuke’s for personal space. “You look like hell.”  
Sousuke cocked an eyebrow and turned towards the red head. Momo said ni-chan was usually blunt on certain matters, but it did not really surprise him.

“I feel like hell,” confessed Sousuke. He decided to play dumb and not make any assumptions about what Mikoshiba was doing so the raven-haired teen said, “What are you doing here?”

“Paid internship,” said Mikoshiba. “Trying hard to juggle this into my schedule with competitive swimming and my studies and it virtually leaves me with no time for fun or housework. So what have you been up to? Is your shoulder okay? Momo told me how worried he was about you. Little rascal told me how much he idolized you.”

“My shoulder is doing bad,” admitted Sousuke. “I’ve been trying to find out who I am, what I want to do with my life now that I fucked it up due to my training. It felt great to always be winning, but now I feel like utter shit. So much for becoming the Michael Phelps of Japan.”

“Oh? You dream of that, too?” chuckled Mikoshiba quietly. “No offense, but in the shape you are in, it may not be possible for a while. When was the last time you had a decent meal? You really have seemed to let yourself go and that worries me.”  
Sousuke bit his tongue and restrained the urge to yell “Mind your own fucking business, you ginger jarhead!” But he didn’t. Sousuke had been channeling his depression into violence, and he hated it, but it was so routine that he couldn’t really stop. His mind went to hell in back every day and he wished it would end. Oddly, talking to the red-haired male gave him a bit of comfort.

“I’ve been evicted from my apartment after I lost my job at the Seibu department store,” said Sousuke. “My landlord should be in the dictionary under ‘asshole’. I worked there from October up until last week. When my shoulder began fucking up even more, my manager told me that I should be admitted to the hospital and then gave me a pink slip since I was drastically being outperformed by other workers and was not worth the money. I haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday morning when I used the last of my savings. Now I’m just on the streets hoping to survive.”

“Dude, I’m so sorry,” said Mikoshiba as he placed his hand on Sousuke’s good shoulder. “I have an idea. Come back to my apartment with me tonight. I get off in three hours at 23:00.” 

“But…you don’t even know me that well,” replied Sousuke with a frown. “And I can’t abandon that baby. I’m virtually the only thing she has left in this cold world.”

“You’re not doing her any good by starving to death,” responded Mikoshiba as he put his hand into his pocket and took out a banknote. “Here, take this. A ¥1000 banknote. Go to the cafeteria and get something warm to eat and I’ll get you something else to eat when I get home. Okay?”  
Sousuke looked at the banknote and Mikoshiba grinned and nodded in encouragement. “Thank you, Mikoshiba-senpai,” he replied.

“Hey, what’s up with the formalities?” asked Mikoshiba. “Makes me feel like I’m too important of a person or old. Just use my given name, Seijuro. Everybody does.”

“T-thanks, Seijuro…” muttered Sousuke as he finally took the money.

“Cafeteria is in the basement. You better hurry cause I believe it closes at 21:00. And don’t worry; I’ll keep you in touch with the baby.”  
Sousuke nodded and followed the signs and made it to the cafeteria. Despite the fact that less than 45 minutes remained before closing, the place was surprisingly crowded. Sousuke grabbed a tray and looked at the various selections of foods. He was on the lookout for tonkatsu but wouldn’t be surprised if they did not have it. Fortunately they did have it….except it was sold out, disappointing the boy. He saw the next-best alternative: butajiru. He loved that soup, especially the kind his mom made, and hoped to get a taste of home when he consumed it. He found something else he liked eating: fried lotus root chips. He grabbed a bottle of Coca-Cola, which he thought of as liquid heaven, and went to pay for the food. ¥960. He hoped Seijuro was not upset at the small amount of change he received as he slowly ate his dinner. The food did not remind him much of home, but it was very satisfying, nonetheless. 

After finishing his food, he saw that it was 20:48 and proceeded to the lobby where he decided to wait until Sei finished with his shift. The raven-haired boy was getting awfully sleepy and decided to take a nap. Surprisingly, this was the first time in a while he has felt calm, but his mind was still uneasy as he kept thinking of the little baby.   
……………..  
“Hey,” said a voice. It was Sei. “I’m finally done with my shift. The baby is in intensive care unit, but her condition is stabilizing. Had you not brought her here, she definitely would’ve died without a doubt.”

“That’s great. It means she’ll be okay, right?” asked Sousuke as he gave Sei his money back.

Sei nodded in response to the question and put the money in his pocket. “Did you have a good meal, buddy? You’ll need rest for tomorrow.”

“What happens tomorrow?” asked Sousuke as he rubbed his eyes.

“You’ll see. Consider it your contribution.”

“For what?” asked Sousuke who was now more confused than ever.

“It’ll speak for itself when we get home. Follow me.” Sei collected his leather jacket and zipped it up as they meted the late winter chill of Tokyo. They walked into the parking garage and he unlocked the doors to his used white 2013 Mazda CX-5 SUV. Sousuke dozed off temporarily as they drove through the city and made it to Sei’s apartment complex in about 15 minutes. He gently tapped Sou’s knee to wake him up and lead him up a flight of stairs to his room that had 241 on the door. 

“Well, here we are,” said Sei with a sigh of content as he unlocked the door and turned on the lights.   
Sousuke’s eyes almost bulged out of his head at the sight. Calling the place a pigsty was a drastic understatement. Crushed cans of locally brewed beer were tossed here and there. Empty Chinese takeout boxes on the dining room table. Socks, Nike trainers, t-shirts, and even a few Speedo swim briefs littered the floor. Hell, Sei was probably eligible in a few months to appear on Hoarders if he kept this up.

“What…the…fuck…” grumbled Sousuke. Sousuke would confess that he himself was not a neat freak, but this was beyond his league of tolerance.

“This is part of your contribution: tidying up this place,” said Seijuro. “I have so much shit to deal with that I really have no time whatsoever to do housework. Even when I do have time, I am not that organized.”

It certainly didn’t take a genius to point out that this trait ran in the family when you knew both brothers. Sousuke remembered various times when he would visit Nitori in his room and see the clutter made by Momo. Gym shorts on the ground, text books tossed in the corner of the room, and even an assortment of different colored plastic toy army soldiers on the desk. 

“This is disgusting,” said Sousuke. “Have you no pride in yourself?”

“Again, I’m too busy. If you had my schedule, you would probably be like this. You can leave if you want, but I hear we are getting a cold front that will bring a lot of rain in the next few days.”

Seijuro was right as well as very kind to offer his apartment to Sousuke.

“All right, it’s a deal,” said Sousuke as he extended his hand and shook Sei’s. 

“Okay, you’ll be the maid around here and your compensation is food and shelter,” said Seijuro. “But while you are at it, you may want to start looking for a job yourself. This arrangement is not permanent, you know. Just until you can get back on your feet and support yourself.”

“Thanks a lot, Sei,” said Sousuke with a small smile. “Is it okay if I use your shower? I haven’t bathed in a couple of days.”

“Be my guest. I’m the kind to shower in the morning, anyways. While you do that, I’ll get some ramen cooking and oolong tea boiling.”

“Sounds great, thanks,” said Sousuke as Sei pointed the direction of the shower. Though tea was strangely not one of his preferred drinks, he took what he could get. Things sure started to take a better turn versus five hours ago.


	3. Don't Say a Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke learns that Sei and Makoto are good friends and fears his cover may be blown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go with the next chapter. Makoto and Kisumi will appear (in their apartment), but there will be no SouMako interactions. Not for a few chapters. Makoto will also be appearing in the next chapter conversing with Seijuro.

A tall, lean, and incredibly muscular man entered his apartment with a frown that greatly accompanied his drooping eyes.

“Kisumi, I am about 95% confidence that person who pushed me aside last night had to be Yamazaki-san!” said the figure to his roommate. “He ran past me while carrying something and I said his name and I think it elicited some sort of response out of him.”

“Tokyo is a megalopolis, Makoto. Is that the only evidence you have that makes you think it’s Sousuke?” replied the pink-haired teenager as he sipped his morning tea. “You’re gonna need more details than that.”

“The hair color, the height, the voice, and I could’ve bet on my life that was Samezuka’s jacket!” shot back the one called Makoto.

“Forgive me for asking the umpteenth time, but why do you care about Sousuke-kun’s wellbeing?” asked Kisumi as he began to eat a bagel with lox, tomato, and cream cheese. “Have you ever even spoken to him?”

“Because Rin is my best friend after Haru and I can’t stand to see either of those boys hurt!” responded Makoto with anxiety in his voice.

“Hey! Rin deserves the title of second best friend?” frowned Kisumi. “We’ve been roommates for almost a year and have told each other almost everything there is to know!”

“Sorry,” apologized Makoto. “I guess you two are tied for second-best friend.” They both shared a quiet laugh and the gentle brunette resumed. “Anyways, I promised Rin that if by a prayer of a chance I encountered Sousuke to call him, but I can’t do that just yet since I don’t want to get him worked up with excitement only for it to be a false lead.”

Kisumi added his opinion and said, “Maybe he doesn’t want to be found. Did you ever think of that? It’s a huge world, no telling where he went to. He may not even be in Japan for all we know. Now, back to what we were discussing. Haru? Being hurt by Sousuke’s disappearance? No offence, Sousuke and I were very good friends in grades four through eight, but Haru being hurt? If anything, he’d be happy Sousuke was gone. You told me he hated Sousuke.”

“Well, Sousuke’s disappearance without a trace has put a huge damper on Rin’s attitude. Ever since Haru started dating Rin, he has kept telling me about how much Rin mentions Sousuke and stuff like that. “

Kisumi chuckled and put down his empty cup of tea. “You’re handling Haru being with Rin so well.”

“W-what are you talking about?” asked Makoto with a cocked eyebrow and a bit nervous.

“Please,” chuckled Kisumi as he got up to wash his hands and started to put the contacts in his eyes. “Anybody who’s anybody who has seen the two of you together can point out that you’re head-over-heels in love with Haru.”

“E-even before I came out of the closet?” asked Makoto. 

“Duh,” said Kisumi. “Remember what I said when you gave me your sob story about your being gay?”

“You said, ‘I had a feeling all along you played in a different court. It doesn’t affect our relationship one bit. Whoever dates you will be one lucky player.’ You always loved incorporating basketball into your conversations back then,” chuckled Makoto with his trademark warm smile.

“Yep. I didn’t think of you any differently from that day,” said Kisumi. “You may be man’s best friend, but I…I am a ladies’ man.” He flashed a big grin and made Makoto laugh. When Makoto was in grade 9, not long before going to Iwatobi High School and confessing his orientation, Kisumi had tried on multiple occasions to hook up Makoto with some girls the cherry blossom pink-haired male had met. Makoto laughed to himself as his friend kept bragging about having something they called in the western world called “swag”. Kisumi was really charming, believe it or not, but he sometimes unintentionally would end up screwing up the nice moment and end up saying something that would disgust the girl and destroy the relationship.

“Come on, Kisumi, we’re gonna be late for our lectures,” said Makoto as he got his bookbag and jacket. He had been thinking long and arduously about finding the right man. Someone who did not want to rush and do the nasty as soon as the opportunity arose. Makoto wanted to be somebody’s somebody, somebody who could confide in him and love the gentle Makoto unconditionally. Sure, he had gotten many offers for “the time of his life”, but Tachibana Makoto wanted to preserve his virginity for that special someone since it would make it that much more special.

The boys got into Makoto’s black ’08 Toyota Camry and when he climbed in, his shoulder collided with Kisumi’s. Makoto recalled Sousuke’s bruised shoulder at the regionals and was utterly shocked that he had the audacity to swim like that. There was no telling what he was up to now and this worried Makoto because it worried Rin. Makoto followed Rin’s twitter account and he frequently mentioned stuff how he wished Sousuke was watching him in Australia. 

“Kisumi?”

“Yes, Makoto?”

“You said that you were good friends with him up until grade eight. Why is it that I have never met him before?”

“Sousuke is mildly autistic and he usually is quite stubborn when it comes to making friends,” explained Kisumi. “I used to brag about you to him and I could tell that he honestly was jealous since you were such a goody-two-shoes and was quite popular, as he stated. I kept telling him that the two of you should swim together, but he told me that he was independent and didn’t want to see you cry when he beat you.”

“What?” asked Makoto who was now shocked.

“He told me that based on how I described you to him, he made you out to be a weak-hearted person who would let insignificant matters be the source of a breakdown. I pretty much said nothing in response since I did not want to cause any conflicts.”  
Makoto merely nodded. If there was one thing Tachibana Makoto was, it was prying into other people’s concern, but not as a busybody like Nagisa who would gossip and tell rumors, but because he was a person who cared. That’s what pursued him into his current studies of psychology.

Meanwhile….

“Zzzzzz,” snored Sousuke softly as he was deep in slumber. He was currently in the guest bedroom of Sei’s apartment and continually had dreams of that baby. Watching her grow up and smile, him finding a future wife that would help him raise her. Possibly the chance of fathering his own child. His shoulder being completely healed and back in the pool where he belonged. Seijuro calling his name. Wait, what?!

“Sousuke!” said the playful tone of Mikoshiba Seijuro in the real world. Apparently it wasn’t a dream… “Rise and shine, honey!” He closed his eyes and gave a hearty laugh.

“Just a few more minutes…” murmured Sousuke. This was the first time in a week he has been able to sleep properly, and he was greatly enjoying where he was in the comfortable bed.

“Okay, but if you don’t get up, the tonkatsu will be gone,” chuckled Sei. “Are you even aware of what time it is?”

“No…” said Sousuke into his pillow. 

“You’ve been asleep for well over ten and a half hours, dude,” said Sei. “It’s 11:18 and I just got home from lectures about five minutes ago. Right now I’m cooking lunch and doing some brief studying before I go to practice at 13:00. I’d like some company and I know you’d like some food in your system before you get started.” Sei put on his earphones and headed towards the kitchen while he gave the younger male his privacy.

Sousuke threw the covers off himself, revealing his navy blue wife beater undershirt and his black boxer briefs. The guest bedroom was the only room not cluttered with trash, signifying that Sei almost never went in there. Sousuke approached the mirror that was above the dresser and looked at himself. He was displaying a heavy case of five o’clock shadow and his hair was not that tidy since he did not fully dry it before going to sleep. He reached into his backpack and got out a pair of red gym shorts and a grey t-shirt with a pocket on the left breast. He went to the bathroom and tidied himself up as well as take care of business and felt significantly better. 

“So, Sousuke,” said Sei as he attended to the pork that was frying in a large pot, occasionally taking off his glasses that fogged up. He was wearing a green sweater with a moose emblem on the left side of his chest and had a white collared shirt underneath. He had on a nice pair of khaki pants and wore brown loafers on his feet. “Tell me a little bit about yourself. Momo said you didn’t delve that much into your past. Swimming, that is. I wasn’t young when I fell in love with swimming.”

Sousuke provided basic details about how Matsuoka Rin was pretty much the one who got him into competitive swimming and how Sousuke took it a bit too seriously. He provided details of his training regime and his past accomplishments up until the part where he busted his shoulder.

“Interesting,” said Sei as he carefully watched the pork. “I’m sure Momo didn’t tell you this since he probably bragged way more about my swimming feats more than anything, but I was actually a gymnast. And a damn good one at that, mind you. I remember my older sister Kasumi was quite skilled at it and I wanted to be just like her. My older brother Dan teased me how I should’ve done a manly sport like judo or karate, both of which were his specialty, and not a sissy sport like gymnastics. I started off at five years old and was…okay at the floor exercises at the time. I mostly did gymnastics for recreational purposes and started doing it competitively by the time I was in grade two. You should’ve seen my on the horizontal bars, man. I was able to get the crowd going. I mainly did that and floor exercises until I had reached the age of 11, which was the minimum requirement. I decided to have a go at the pommel horse and was fairly exceptional at it.”

Sousuke took a moment to think about this. He really couldn’t imagine the shredded Mikoshiba Seijuro to be agile and doing gymnastics, but hey, he learned something new every day.

“One day, though, about a week after my birthday, I had an accident on the pommel horse and broke my left hip. It was so embarrassing for me because I was in front of a full crown on the ground crying. I had to get surgery and it pretty much put a halt to gymnastics. As part of the physical therapy process, the doctors recommended swimming. I had taken many swimming lessons in the past, sure, but never competitively. Once I was in the water, I could’ve sworn that I heard my calling. I think I enjoyed swimming more in a week than I had with gymnastics in six years. And it really helped that I had gained a fair amount of muscle from gymnastics since it gave me a good amount of stamina. Not long after I had turned 12, I won my first school tournament. It shocked everyone, to say the least, since some of the boys on the team had been doing this since they were six. Autumn of grade eight, I pretty much was the top swimming of the prefecture and was unrivaled at the time since I had not been beaten once. Until Nanase beat me in the Iwatobi regionals when I was in grade nine.”

Sei kept rambling about his accomplishments and whatnot for a good ten minutes until he placed the pork cutlet in front of Sousuke. The two boys remained quiet as Sei was engaged with reading a book that was in English. Sousuke could see that it was something by William Shakespeare and wondered why Sei was reading it.

“Hey, Seijuro?”

“Yeah?”

“How well do you know English?”

“Almost fluently, actually,” said the red head. “I studied abroad at the University of Florida last spring, and let me tell you, it was great, man. It convinced me to pursue a minor in English. It was so different being in the States, but I loved practically every minute of it. The team was nothing to mess with as they were all some of the very best. It pushed me to train harder since I beat some of these guys with as little as 0.03 seconds and even got beaten myself. I have a lot of memorabilia in my room and in fact, I’m wearing some right now. I got this sweater from Abercrombie and Fitch and these pants and shirt from Banana Republic. Some cute girl I flirted with gave me these shoes before I left and I gotta say, they are some of the most comfortable ones I’ve worn.”

“Yeah, I actually had wanted to study in like, California or even in Toronto, but I screwed up royally,” said Sousuke. “I also got something else to ask.” Sei nodded to tell him to continue. “This may be hard to answer since Todai is such a large school, but…is there anybody that I would know on the swim team? Like, from Samezuka or Iwatobi?”

“Some of the upperclassman when I was a first year student and several others who were in the same grade as I,” said Seijuro. “As for anybody who was in your grade? No, I don’t see anybody, and I knew everyone fairly well. Why do you ask?”

“Because I don’t want you to tell them where I am ‘cause it will probably spread to Rin. Plus if there is anybody, I gotta know who to look out for and be careful. Anyone else?”

“Oh, yeah. Someone from Iwatobi High. He’s become a good friend of mind and an excellent member of the team. I think he’s so cute when he’s asking any depressed members what their problems are since he says it hinders their performance. He’s quite popular, surprisingly, although to some, his acting like a therapist may annoy them. We actually have joint study sessions on Saturdays at his place since we have a few classes in common. He’s visited here a few times, too, but I don’t know if you know him well.”

“Shit,” thought Sousuke. “Who is he?” He already had an idea of who it was, but he just wanted to hear Seijuro say it.

“Tachibana Makoto.”

“Was afraid of that,” said Sousuke.

“And I think it’s so silly that his friend with the cherry blossom-pink hair periodically comes by and tries to tell the boys how to woo girls.”

“Fuck…” muttered Sousuke, but Seijuro was able to hear it.

“What’s wrong, Sousuke?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.

“That’s Shigino Kisumi. He was my next best friend after Rin, but we stopped hanging out because he was staring to be a little shit. He and Rin didn’t really know each other, but Tachibana poses a threat. You cannot, under any circumstances, tell him or Kisumi I’m in Tokyo, let alone living under your roof. Any word from you giving any slight clue will cause Tachibana to blow the whistle.”

“All right, all right, you can count on me,” said Seijuro. “But, what are you going to do on Saturday? I kinda asked him to come over to let me see how he's doing with his English homework.”

“The hospital,” responded Sousuke.

“Hmm?” was all that Seijuro was able to reply with.

“That baby needs a familiar face, and I need to know how she’s doing. I can’t stop thinking about her in my arms. It felt so…right. Like there was an instant connection. 

“I’m sure I can pull a few strings,” said Sei. He looked down at his silver-colored watch and got up. “It’s time to go back to the university. Practice starts in 55 minutes, but I like getting there on time.” He approached the door and said, “Bye, Sousuke! And I’ll put in my effort by taking all the trash bags to the dumpster so you don’t strain your shoulder. Be sure to wash my swimsuits and underwear; I’ve been wearing this Speedo for like, four practices in a row.” 

He laughed heartily and shut the door behind him as he entered the rain.

“Fucking gross,” said Sousuke as he shuddered at the thought. “And he wants to be a surgeon? Ha! He’ll need to change his ways first.” Sousuke back into the kitchen and saw a large box containing 40 100 liter garbage bags, some chemicals to scrub the counters and bathroom, some gloves, and a face mask they used at the hospitals so he wouldn’t inhale the chemicals. This was gonna be fun......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why, but Makoto and Sei being friends sounds kinda cool. Also, I can somehow picture Seijuro being one of those preppy guys that you see in films like "Mean Girls", but he's not one of those backstabber types who talks shit behind other people's backs.  
> I loved waching crack videos that depict Kisumi being "Mr. steal your girlfriend". Shame he didn't appear more. If by a prayer of a chance they DO make a third season, Sei and Kisumi need more screen time!! XDD


	4. Broments and What the F%$k!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A relatively angst-free chapter. I try to not make it all angst and incorporate SOME humor in it, if possible. Chapter summary is pretty much what the title says; SeiMako being dorks and Sousuke finding stuff. Oh, yeah, and Makoto has something cute. Plus he gets naked for a moment. You're welcome and I'm sorry that I'm not sorry. xDD

After finishing their lectures, Makoto and Kisumi got into the Toyota and drove to the other side of the campus where the sports complex was after aimlessly searching for a place to park for the past ten minutes. Now being 12:40, the boys had to make their separate ways.

“Sorry that I can’t watch you today at practice ‘cause I got to prepare for an upcoming game next week,” said Kisumi as he grabbed his duffel bag and closed the door behind him.

“It’s okay; you don’t have to show up every time you don’t have practice,” chuckled Makoto. “Besides, you complain about the natatorium being too humid and warm.”

“Well, it would be a much more welcoming experience versus walking in this rain,” said Kisumi with a frown. “It’s only 8 C right now and is supposed to drop down to 3 C.”

“I know, you love the summer months, but just hang in there. You know how we went into that heat wave last year around this time?”

“Yeah, it got up to 24 C,” replied Kisumi as he held the umbrella over the two of them. For some reason why, weather was probably in the top ten things the two boys liked talking about. It was a neutral subject and there was practically no way that they could offend one another while talking about it.

The natatorium was directly in front of the parking lot that they were in, but Kisumi had to walk about five minutes to the basketball court. 

“I’ll right, I’ll see you later!” exclaimed Kisumi as he waved farewell to Makoto while still holding the umbrella.  
Makoto entered the building and was greeted by the receptionist who went googly eyes over the boy. Too bad she didn’t know that she could never score a chance with the gentle boy she had a crush on. 

“Aya-chan!” said a booming hearty voice with a laugh.

“Sei-kun!” she giggled as the brick red-haired male went over to the receptionist desk and flashed her a smile. Makoto gently smiled as Sei affectionately held her hands and planted a kiss on the cheek. In all honesty, he was kinda jealous of Aya for dating Sei since Makoto grew quite fond of the former swim captain. Unbeknownst to Seijuro (obviously and hopefully) and to practically everyone, Makoto actually had fantasies of going beyond the boundaries of the title “friendship” with Seijuro by dating him. There were so many times when Makoto felt like confessing his feelings as well as the fact that he was gay to Seijuro, but he backed out every time. He had seen the red head charm girls many times and wanted somebody to make him feel wanted. He had images of the two of them sharing a kiss, but he knew that was just a daydream that would only remain incomplete in the archives of his mind. 

Makoto headed to the locker room and began to take off his shirt when all the sudden, the door slammed open by none other than Mikoshiba Seijuro.

“Tachibana!” he said as he pulled him into a headlock and gave him a noogie. Some of the boys in the locker room groaned in annoyance. He almost always did this when he saw Makoto and everyone labeled the two as having a bromance. 

“Sei-kun!” laughed Makoto as he tried to break the headlock. It was no use, though. Over the past two years after being Samezuka’s captain, Seijuro miraculously was able to put on 16 extra pounds of weight, all of it being pure muscle. 

“How’s it going?”

Seijuro immediately hesitated in what to say next. He was fairly open in the matters of his life with Makoto since he labeled him as his best friend, but he didn’t think Makoto saw him as his best friend. Maybe third or fourth best friend? Anyways, he remembered his word to Sousuke and merely said,

“Had somewhat of a stressful night last night on my shift. Other than that, I’m okay.”

Makoto took off his shirt and pants, leaving him in his black briefs as he grabbed his jammers. Tachibana Makoto did not have anything to be ashamed of as he shimmied outta his undergarments and slipped on his jammers, but he was afraid that his sex appeal was the only thing that would attract his significant other by just his physical aspect. No, his looks that both genders complimented him on was just a bonus and unfortunately the girls had to be politely denied with a fabricated lie that he had to make: “I’m already taken.” 

Makoto looked at Sei again and said in response to his statement, “Is it too personal? I respect the privacy if you don’t want to.”

Seijuro simultaneously did and did not violate the patients’ privacy since he told Makoto about some of the stress some (not all) of the worse cases but he never told him any names or even the gender. 

“An abandoned baby was brought in yesterday. How can anyone just do that? It’s sickening.”  
Makoto frowned deeply at this. “The world can be a cruel place. The person who did that clearly must have had a terrible past and thought the pleasure of sex was enough to dull the pain, but in that selfish act brought a life being into the world just to leave it behind.” He grabbed his towel and goggles and slipped on some sandals and looked back at the red head. 

“Is the baby still alive?”

“Yes, recovering, but in ICU,” replied Sei. “I asked my boss and he said the baby’s doing slightly better today, but there’s no telling when she will go to social services. She was close to hypothermia and ”

“If I could, I’d hug that baby and tell her things will be all right,” said Makoto. “Every time I hear stuff like this, it makes me want to go cry at now just how sad I feel for the baby, but how the world is turning out. Is it too selfish of me to ask that we could all get along? The unnecessary wars…Poverty…I don’t know what’s worse, the people who are living in this world or them deciding to bring children into this world.”

“Yeah, man, I feel the same, and no, it isn’t selfish; it’s actually selfless of you,” said Sei who was too caught up in the conversation that he hadn’t even gotten undressed. He took off his sweater, shirt, and shoes and grabbed his black nylon swim briefs and dropped his jeans and set them in the locker, leaving him in just his black boxer briefs.   
Makoto looked and was fixated on the tattoo on Sei’s left bicep. It was his spiritual animal, the marlin, which covered an area of about 6 square inches and was elaborately detailed. He got it when he was in Florida and shelled out $800 for it and when Makoto heard how much it cost in yen as soon as Sei had come back, the brunette was flabbergasted to say the very least. He warned Sei that he would probably end up regretting it in the future since he believe the red head would probably not look this way in 20 years. Sei just laughed and said he’d be swimming even stronger at 40 since he also planned to be a swim coach on the side. Makoto was truly impressed with his ambition and Sei immediately shifted the conversation back to tattoos. He told his gentle friend that he should get one as well since he was one of the few “virgin canvases”, as Sei pointed out, on the swim team. It was true; at the time during his previous semester, Makoto was one of about thirty boys out the team of 125 who didn’t have a tattoo. The tattoos varied from kanji with words such as “resolve”, “hope”, “aspiration”, “strength”, internet slang such as “U mad, bro?” or “Do u even swim?”, and animals. Most of the tattoos were no larger than about 3 inches squared.

For about three weeks after returning home from Florida, Sei had pressured his friend into getting a tattoo, but Makoto was just too embarrassed. He had nothing against tattoos, it was just he couldn’t picture himself with one. Sei began to tell something that had to be one of the hokiest and contrived things he had ever heard in his life: he told Makoto that with the marlin tattoo he had, he felt one with the animal and that the animal’s spirit was embedded in his skin and granted him its speed abilities. Somehow, the way Seijuro said it made it sound…awesome. He didn’t tell Sei what he was getting despite the floods of texts he got and told him it was a surprise and would have to wait. After having to rest for a few days, Tachibana Makoto flaunted his new orca tattoo on his right trapezius region at practice. Sei gave a smile and a hearty laugh of approval and teased him why he chose Free Willy on his stupidly ripped back, but Makoto told him it was not a kiddy tattoo. 

Makoto chuckled and smiled at the memory.

“What are you smiling about all the sudden?” asked Sei. 

“Just thinking about when I got the tattoo,” laughed Makoto.

“Oh yeah, I said it looked kinda childish and like one of those you get out those little dispensers at Pizza Hut,” laughed Sei.

“Sei?”

“Hmm?”

“What are your thoughts about children?”

“As long as they behave, I love them,” responded the red head. “I’ve babysat my nephew a few times and enjoyed it, but I definitely do not want to be as young as Dan when he had his. He’s 26 with a three-year-old son!”

“You seem like you’d be a good dad,” said Makoto with a smile. 

“I wouldn’t doubt that I could be a good dad, but you? I know for a fact that you’d make an excellent father, I’m sure of it,” said Sei. “Just find the right wife and you can have as many as you want.” As he finished that sentence, he pulled up his skimpy swimsuit to cover the family jewels and butt that he had exposed to the entire world. Not that he was ashamed by any means since he loved the praise of his underlings about how he was a natural chick magnet and asked for the secrets that made him who he was.

The locker room was completely deserted except the two boys. Makoto’s face turned a crimson red after what Sei had just said and the exposure to his nude body. Sei noticed this; normally, he and Makoto were at the other end of the locker room when they changed clothes, so there was no telling for how long Makoto has been lusting his body. Makoto shifted his eyes in embarrassment and tried to avoid eye contact with Seijuro. 

Sei’s golden eyes scanned Makoto’s and the older boy looked shock. “No. No. Please don’t tell me yo-” started Sei until the door slammed open.

“Shit,” thought Makoto. He knew that Sei had probably figured his sexuality out, but sighed in relief when the coach’s angry voice put a stop to their conversation.

“Mikoshiba! Tachibana! Are you two just gonna chitchat all day or what? Get your asses in the pool now!!”

“Yes, sir!” they both said in unison as they followed their coach.

\------------------

Sousuke had been working for some thirty minutes and he was hating every second of it. By no means was he a germaphobe or arduously scrubbed down the counters back at home, but he was the kind of person who simply put things where they belonged so there would be no mess. Throughout the clutter of mess, Sousuke found some pretty interesting things that defined the image of Mikoshiba Seijuro. For example, he found that Sei had a subscription to a magazine for men’s health that specifically gave details on sex appeal and other things such as how to romance women, best way to stay in shape (not that he needed it) and even enhancement products. Sousuke chuckled to himself. If Seijuro was gonna hire someone to clean up his shit, wouldn’t he have the decency of hiding his private stuff? Or unless he didn’t bother since he felt no shame in the matter, which was probably logical since he didn’t really feel embarrassed to let Sousuke in his untidy house.

And all of this stuff was just in the kitchen of all places. He couldn’t wait to see what he could dig up on Sei when he got to the other rooms, particularly the bedroom, although knowing how Momo described him and just his personality, Sousuke honestly was a bit afraid of what he would find. With his protected hands and a face mask, he began to grab the abundance of protein bar wrappers and the packaging of the pork that he had cooked earlier. Wasn’t he aware of the fact that bacteria could form in the juice that still drenched the Styrofoam and unleash toxic byproducts? It was nerve-racking, to say the least for any normal individual, but not for Sousuke. He was pretty much indifferent about how Sei lived his life since it was his own business, but still…

Sousuke had just finished his first bag of trash and tied it up. He tossed it against the wall and grabbed another one. On the counter he found rotten banana peels, rotten apples, tons of ramen packets, empty milk bags, a giant empty bottle of chocolate Body Fortress whey protein (something that brought back memories to Sousuke), cashews, oatmeal, and even a few beer cans. Was Sei even 20 yet? Well, Sousuke was born on 14 September, 1995, and assuming that Sei was a year older, most likely he was 20. 

Sousuke sighed and winced as he extended his arm to grab some the peelings of sweet potato skin. This was just getting stupid; how the hell could anyone be so fucking lazy to not throw away stuff like that? Seijuro really must have no time on his hands and assuming his work at the hospital, his studies at university, and a member of a prestigious university’s swim team it did seem logical to a plausible extent. Almost. There was one thing for sure that he was gonna do: get a good shower after he was through.

And after all this damn effort, Seijuro sure as fuck better pulled the proper strings to give Sousuke access to see the baby before she would inevitably be turned to the social services. Sousuke couldn’t believe how much his view on life had changed in the past 24 hours. He was near the point of killing himself but it took the suffering of an abandoned baby, a sweet, innocent creature who had done no wrong in the world and was left to die. He had to get back on his feet and make sure that baby was raised by the proper person and he needed something to give him a purpose for living. He had to get a job and support himself instead of the home he was given out of pity with the shitty stipulation of cleaning up this ungodly pigsty that Mikoshiba Seijuro, the older brother of his former friend Momo, lived in.

After about 45 minutes in the kitchen, Sousuke grabbed a few more bags and decided to get away from the strong scent of chemicals after having cleaned down the countertops with dilute bleach. He knew that he would have to clean the “master’s” room eventually, so he may as well begin now. No telling what surprises he would encounter, but the sooner he came across them, the earlier he could get it off his mind.

In a room that was in the small hallway towards Sei’s room, there was the laundry room. Sousuke desperately needed some fresh clothes, but he did not want to mix them with Sei’s nasty shit. If he had been wearing the same Speedo for four practices, there was no telling how long he wore the same socks or underwear. Since he knew it’d be quite a while before the “master” got home, he decided to gather as much of Sei’s clothes and wash them first and would have to do several loads. Since there was no clothes basket, he had to make continual trips back and forth, tossing colored socks, t-shirts with names of his favorite bands, the University of Florida Gators that had a matching baseball cap, underwear which consisted of boxer briefs and one that had the U.S. flag on it, and gyms shorts in. He found about six swim briefs, two solid black ones, two of the red, white, and blue ones, and turned the water on in the sink and found special soap for them. 

He found a plethora of school papers, most of them were anatomy and physiology reports with good grades ranging from 86% to 98% with the majority of them being over 90%. He found some in the English subject with the lowest grade being a 92%. He clearly wasn’t lying when he told Sousuke that he was near fluent in the language. Calculus homework, random drawings (terrible ones at that) of some girls he had seen in glass, sports magazines, and…

“What the fuck?!” shouted Sousuke in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What the fuck?!" is always a lovely way to end a chapter, right? For those who like the idea of Makoto with an orca tattoo, you're welcome. :D


	5. From the Bottom of My Broken Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke looks a little bit into his past. Makoto confesses something to Sei, and angst builds up between Sousuke and Sei. Sousuke's middle name should be "Angst".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After someone told me how, I added pictures! Some of them may not have the correct clothing in the context, but these are the facial expressions. Cause pictures make it all cooler. lol  
> Also, there needs to be a break in the angst and I (attempt) add humor.
> 
> Also, this is NOT character bashing. It's just an a.u. in which Haru did not discover his homosexuality for Rin until they were in Australia.

“What the fuck?!” said Sousuke in shock.  He seriously shook his head, trying to prevent himself from spewing such profanity, but it wasn’t exactly an easy feat.  He silently cursed as he moved some litter out of the way to get a better look at the object.   He wasn’t entirely sure was it, but it looked like it was some sort of undergarment.  Hopefully it didn’t belong to Seijuro, but hell, anything was possible when one doesn’t know anything about anyone.   It appeared to be white lace and had…a bra?  Off to the side of them were condoms, some of which still contained…spillage. 

“Oh, yeah, isn’t this just lovely?” huffed Sousuke with annoyance.  The undergarment was a negligee that had a fishnet design on it.  It apparently belonged to one of Seijuro’s girlfriends, considering the fact that Seijuro easily could pass as a hustler in disguise, thought Sousuke, which also explained the condoms on the floor.  Nonetheless, it wasn’t his business to pry, but it sure as hell made him wonder what to do with the undergarment and the condoms.  Thankfully he had gloves on and he just picked it up by the very edge with his thumb and middle finger and tossed it aside to another corner around.  He also began to dispose of the used condoms into the trash.  “At least he uses protection, unlike the person who fathered that innocent baby,” he continued as he thought back at that little girl.  It could be the only chance for him to grasp onto his sanity and raise someone to follow her own dream and possibly fulfill the one he could never achieve.

Sousuke sighed in disappointment as he continued to bag all the litter and condoms. At least his roommate was able to get female companionship, even if it were a onetime thing.  Unfortunately for Sousuke, he had no interest in women at this time.  Being bisexual, he had periods where he gravitated to one specific sex and males were currently his preference.  One thing that influenced which gender Sousuke was attracted to was determined by relationships and how they formed and progressed.  Before leaving Iwatobi, the boy had a preference for male, but after a certain mishap with Rin…

“Rin, I have had something on my mind for a while,” said Sousuke two days before leaving the town of Iwatobi.

“What is it, Sousuke?” asked Rin as both of them glanced ahead into the ocean.

“Ever since grade three when I transferred to Sano Elementary and you became my friend, I felt…like you united something in me.  If I had never met you, I have no clue how I would be today.  I want you to know that I deeply appreciate you and I want to know if…”  Sousuke looked down awkwardly as he tried to muster the courage to tell the maroon-haired boy what he was thinking.

“Sousuke,” said Rin.  “What’s on your mind?”            

“I wanted to know…if…you’d like to be my boyfriend?” asked Sousuke.  Not long after the beginning of their third year when they reunited after so many years, Rin confessed his homosexuality to Sousuke.  Sousuke was honestly not surprised by this since Rin never mentioned having a girlfriend and shrugged off any double dates with Sousuke and a girl he met while out.  It wasn’t until a week before the regionals where Sousuke admitted he swung both ways, which was a shock to Rin considering how virile Sousuke was.  Now that they both were available (as far as Sousuke knew) it was now the brunet’s chance to make his move.

“Sousuke…” whispered Rin as he just processed the feelings his childhood friend had just admitted  “I…can’t…”

Sousuke gasped and took a step back.  “W-why?”  Had Sousuke done something where he wasn’t suitable to date?  Was Rin just not interested in taking it further to date?  Or was it just awkward since they had known each other from long ago?

“I feel like an asshole,” started Rin, and Sousuke knew that Rin was about to say something that couldn’t be good, “and I’m sorry that you have to find out like this, but…I’m currently…in a relationship…”

“W-what?”  said Sousuke.  “How long?  And why the fuck hadn’t you told me before hand?!”

“Sousuke, calm down,” urged Rin as the temper of his friend rose. 

“Why the fuck didn’t you ask me if I felt anything?!” asked Sousuke.  “Fucking hell, Rin, ever heard of something called the bro code?  We told one another that if we ever had feelings for somebody or even one another that we would tell each other!” 

“Because I was too caught up and busy to tell you!” shouted Rin as tears were beginning to form in his eyes.

“Right.  How the fuck can you be too busy to tell me something like that when we live _in the same dorm?_!”

“Cause I know that you would’ve reacted like this if I had told you and I didn’t want to get the fucking resident assistance up my ass at late hours!”

“You’re the swim captain; I thought _you_ were the RA,” retorted Sousuke.

“How did you come up with that logic?” asked Rin with an arched brow.

“You told me Momo’s brother was the swim captain last year as well as the RA last year, so I just assumed that you were it this year,” explained Sousuke. 

Rin just scoffed in annoyance.  “That fire crotch bastard just happened to be the RA because he thinks he’s a fucking goody-two-shoe.  He’s always been trying to hook up with Gou; that’s why he booked joint practices with Iwatobi so frequently.  But if one good thing came outta it, he became a lot more lax after Makoto befriended him.  Before he’d be up in her face every fucking day, but then it became about once every two weeks.”

“What the fuck does this have to do anything?” asked Sousuke.

“Beats the hell out of me,” said Rin.  “Oh, now I remember.  You asked why I didn’t tell you earlier.  It’s because I never could’ve had any emotions like that for you.  We have history and it would seem…weird…”

“Who’s the bastard that you hooked up with?” asked Sousuke.

“Haru.”

“Nanase?  That antisocial idiot?”

“ _Don’t_ say that about Haru,” said Rin.  “He’s autistic, you know, and not everyone fully understands it.”

“I’m autistic, too, dammit!” shouted Sousuke.  “Why is he any different than me?!”

“Yours is nowhere near as severe,” said Rin.  “Plus, he had a recent fall out with Makoto.  He needed someone and was lonely.  This happened a few weeks ago.  Why didn’t you confess your feelings beforehand?  Things between us could’ve been different!”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be venting steam if you had told me you didn’t feel anything for me,” said Sousuke. 

“How the hell am I supposed to bring that up in a conversation?  Just randomly come up to you and say, ‘I’m sorry, Sousuke, we’re incompatible for dating.’?”

“You should’ve said that when I told you I was bi, dammit!” said Sousuke.

“And you shouldn’t have waited two weeks before I move to Australia to tell me this!  Why did you wait so long?”

“Because I knew you'd make a big deal about it! I just found out myself that I had these feelings a few days ago,” said Sousuke as a tear ran down his cheek.

“So what do you expect to happen now?” asked Rin.  “That this turns into some cliché movie where someone is about to leave and never come back, but the one tells his feelings and they get together and fucking live happily ever after?!”

“Fuck Nanase!” shouted Sousuke as he jabbed his index finger into Rin’s stomach.  “And fuck you!!  You and Nanase can go fuck each other and get AIDS for all I care!  Just leave poor Sousuke on the sideline wallowing in his pity and broken shoulder.”

And with that, Sousuke left as Rin’s screaming apologies echoed in the distance.  Sousuke was so mad that he deleted all his online media profiles and told his parents he was going to “find himself”.  Before telling them this, he withdrew all his savings from his account, all ¥3,000,000 and left without a trace.

 Sousuke remembered one time about three weeks after leaving Iwatobi when he ending up in Sapporo.  He was at this restaurant and was getting out of the rain and this girl who had recently reached the legal age to drink came over to him and started flirting with him.  She was well aware that Sousuke was younger than she, but that nonetheless stopped either of them.  After having a few drinks at her apartment, Sousuke, slightly inebriated, and the girl, heavily drunk, engaged in consensual copulation.  The next morning, the girl, who apparently lost all knowledge of what happened last night, threw a tantrum at Sousuke, screaming that she raped him and smashed a beer bottle on his bad shoulder.  Sousuke left the apartment in tears, not just at the indescribable pain in his shoulder, but the emotional abuse and the sharp painful words she said that stabbed him like a dagger.

As Sousuke picked up more garbage, he began to get a better idea of the person he was living with.  Seijuro was kind and caring, as some letters said that were on the ground.  Sousuke was not going to deny this, but he would be lying if he said he lacked any sort of attraction to Mikoshiba Seijuro.  The kindness he showed Sousuke by offering a place to live (with the stipulation of cleaning it, of course), his smile, those amber eyes, that laugh…Sousuke had many thoughts of men and women in sexual terms, but to him, all of them were about dominating them and not a single one about being the submissive one.  But somehow, Seijuro was the only one that gave Sousuke any thoughts of wanting to be dominated.  Still, it was just a fantasy he wanted to keep hidden and never bring to life, but he could always dream.  He didn’t have any desire for women at the moment; maybe he was gay all the time and was just trying to hide it?    

 He began to pick up more stuff but saw something interesting.  It was written in the Roman alphabet in a cute squiggly form with little hearts.  And being poor in English, Sousuke had difficulty reading it.

“Wait! Is this…” he began. “T-ta..c-ch…”

14:37

“Tachibana!  Mikoshiba! If either of you men plan to compete in the Olympics, get your act together!” said the couch.  “What’s the matter with you two?”

“Family issues,” said Seijuro.

“Exams,” said Makoto.

The coach sighed and then smiled.  Despite the fact that he had a tendency to frequently shout, he did not lack compassion or understanding. “We all have our days where we don’t perform to our best.  You two have done so well the past few months and I’m very proud.  You still have some three months before the trials.  Why don’t you two boys go home and relax for the rest of this week.  I’ll see you next Monday and I hope that you are in much better condition.”

“Thank you, sir!” said both boys as they began walking to the locker room. When they entered the room, no one was in there and Makoto was nervous that Seijuro would bring up the last conversation.

“Well, I sure feel embarrassed,” chuckled Makoto.  “My 200 m backstroke worsened by 6:21 seconds compared to yesterday.  This is the first time since our time trial at the first joint practice with Samezuka that I timed over 2:00!”  It was true; Makoto usually finished the backstroke in around 1:53 to 1:55, depending on how his day was.  But today was sheer embarrassment when he saw his time on the screen read 2:00.28.

“Yeah, and I didn’t do too much better; I clocked at 1:54.07 yesterday for the 200 m butterfly, and now I went to 1:58.62!  I feel so ashamed,” said Seijuro as he looked down.

“Hey, why did you lie?” asked Makoto.

“About what?” asked Sei.

“Family issues.  You told me everything was going great back at home yesterday.  What’s the real issue?”

“I guess it’s just from yesterday,” said Sei.  “I’ve been too preoccupied with it and it must be affecting me.  Plus the fact that I miss Dan and Kasumi so much; Dan’s 27th birthday is in a few weeks and the fact he lives across the Pacific in Vancouver doesn’t really help.hi” 

Makoto had met Dan and Kasumi once.  They both had the trademark Mikoshiba enthusiasm and red hair that was even darker than Sei’s. 

“What’s your excuse?  Midterms were last week.”

“We haven’t gotten the grades back and I’m really concerned for some of them,” said Makoto.

“I see,” said Sei.  “Surely not the English one after all the help I’ve provided you.  Anyways, before we were interrupted by the coach earlier in here…”

Oh boy, thought Makoto.  He’s gonna mention me staring at him with lust-filled eyes.

“Your swimsuit,” said Makoto.

“Excuse me?” was all that Sei responded.

“Maybe your times aren’t significantly increasing because of your swimsuit.  You did tell me you’ve worn the briefs-style swimsuit ever since you’ve started almost a decade ago, right?”

“Yeah…” said Seijuro.  He began to wonder why Makoto was acting so strange all of the sudden.

“And change can be a good thing; let’s go to Sports Zero soon and get new suits; the one I’m wearing is beginning to lose its elasticity.”

“That may be a good idea,” said Sei.  “How about we go out for lunch as well?  I don’t have a shift on this upcoming Saturday and I’d really like it if we could hang out some more, since you are my best friend, you know.”

“Same here,” said Makoto.  “You’re my best friend as well.”  He smiled gently at the red head who began to take off his swimsuit and put back on his boxer briefs.

“Well, I’m glad you said—Wait, did you say best friend?  I thought Nanase was?  Or Matsuoka.”

Makoto turned his eyes away and let them droop considerably more than usual.  Seijuro also frowned as he saw his friend.

“I thought Nanase-kun was your best friend,” replied Sei.  “You have acted slightly down the past few weeks.  I think as your best friend, I should be kept up to date so we can work out any problems you have.”

“I just want to ask you this: You won’t abandon me, no matter what?” asked Makoto as felt his eyes get teary.

“Of course I won’t; we’re some of the biggest dorks on campus, but you’re my dorky friend forever,” said Sei as he placed a hand on Makoto’s shoulder.

“I don’t know if you’ll feel that way after I tell you this…something I should’ve told you a long time ago,” replied Makoto.  “I had a feeling you’d bring it up sooner or later, our conversation we had before coach came barging in…”

Seijuro had a blank expression to signify that he was listening with full attention.  Seeing Makoto getting all worked up and depressed was more than likely far more depressing than the news he had to share.

“Mikoshiba Seijuro, I’m…gay…and I feel so lost.  I had a falling out with Haru.  I told him, my best friend I for 11 years, what I felt for him, but he told me he was asexual and rejected them.  But that wasn’t the biggest blow.  A few weeks later…I caught sight of him hooking up with Rin...and…Do you know how hard it is to move on with your life when your best friend lies to you like that in such a way?  Whenever my roommate, Kisumi, is not at home, I sometimes lie crying in the bed of what I used to have.  I felt that I had found my true love with Haru, but apparently I’m too wishy-washy for him, even if he were gay, as he pointed out.  I just…”  He couldn’t resume the conversation as he began crying into his hands, looking away from Seijuro.  Seijuro did not know whether he should join Makoto in the water works since it was so painful to see him cry, or punch the bastard responsible for making him cry.

“Hey, hey, this affects our relationship in no way as best friends,” said Sei as he pulled Makoto closer and gently wiped a tear away from his chin.  Despite being one of the largest guys on campus and being periodically bold and aggressive, he had good intentions and a gentle side that was not unlike that of Makoto.  “Have you told this to Nanase?  How did it impact your friendship?  What about Matsuoka? It may help to tell him what this has done to you.”

“Haru just resumed as if nothing had happened.  When I went home that night, I had trouble sleeping.  Apparently when he went to Australia with Rin, he must have seen another side of Rin that excited him and attracted him.  When I saw him kiss Rin when he thought I wasn’t anywhere nearby, I ran home and started crying.  My parents knew that I was gay; I had come out when I was in grade 9 and they always figured that Haru and I would get together.  I figured that maybe it was selfishness on my part to want to be together with Haru, but I suppose it wasn’t meant to be.  I wanted to stop thinking of me and think of others, especially those who are not as fortunate as I am.  But it just is hard because this is how I am.  And I feel so bad for Rin because he constantly has been wondering what happened to Sousuke.  He didn’t give me any specifics, but apparently they had a bad fight and Rin is trying to find him so he can apologize properly.  Haruka, on the other hand, couldn’t care less if Rin never found Sousuke, and I know Sousuke is suffering.  His shoulder…His expression in his eyes.  Haru told me to stop thinking of others and just concentrate on my life, but I told him I disagreed.  I was mad at how he hated Yamazaki so much. So I gave Haru his space and continued devoting my time to the community and the Iwatobi swim club, and also finding Sousuke so Rin would feel better, but…I feel so…underappreciated.  Like I’m just rotting away from being too kind to others, but never get anything back.”

Seijuro was now mad. Anyone who dared make his angel of a best friend cry would have hell to pay.  But he was also scared that any second he could crack and reveal that Sousuke was living under his roof. He had to talk to Sousuke as soon as possible.  Sei needed time to figure out how to properly handle the situation.

“Tachibana Makoto, you listen to me,” he said as he placed both of his arms on Makoto’s shoulders.  Makoto still had a few tears rolling down his cheeks, but he managed to look at Sei’s soft amber eyes.

“Don’t…ever…say that all you do is for nothing.  Gay, straight, transsexual, bi, I don’t care how you identify yourself.  You are one of the best persons I know, if not the best.  And I never really realized until now how much I value our friendship. I guess I never really have been that expressive and I’m sorry for that.  I guess tutoring you in English is not sufficient payment for all that you’ve done for me.”  Sei sniffled a little in attempt to suppress the tears that were forming in his eyes but failed.  “Remember about two months ago when that patient I was helping flat lined and couldn’t be revived, do you not know how hard it was for me to try to go back alone to my apartment?  You texted me like you always do to see how I am when my shift ends.  I told you I was miserable.  Remember what you said?”

“Of course,” said Makoto.  “I told you to come over to my apartment.  And we could talk to help ease your mind.”

“Then we got sidetracked and started watching movies on your laptop.  I hadn’t laughed so hard in such a long time.  We were almost afraid that I’d wake the neighbors.”

“Then I let you spend the night.  I took the couch and you took my bed,” said Makoto with a smile.

“I almost insisted that you sleep in your bed since I was a guest.  I’ll never forget your kindness and I want to make it up to you really soon.”

“Thank you so much for listening to me.  I feel a bit better, but…this isn’t the worst of it…It’ll determine how the future of this friendship will be.”

“Oh?  And what’s that?”  asked Sei with an arched eyebrow as he finally put on his shoes.

“I’ve…had fantasies about you…lustful ones…and I feel so wrong,” confessed Makoto as he finally slipped back on his brief underwear followed by his jeans.  “But it’s just something that will remain just as that—a fantasy.  I pictured you, um…fucking me senseless and talking dirty to me and sharing passionate kisses while telling me you loved me.”  Makoto had turned crimson from his ears to his neck.  He had no idea how Sei would respond to this.  "It all started the first time we saw each other.  I just...I don't know what say, man.   So many thoughts were going through my mind that day, and..."

First encounter....

 

“Wow.  I didn’t know you felt that way about me,” said Sei. 

“I know; it’s stupid because you’re straight and it can never happen,” hastily responded Makoto. 

“Well, we all learn something new every day, Makoto,” responded Sei with a smile.

“Huh?”

“This will be a huge shocker to you, undoubtedly.  For all the time I had been at Samezuka and all the half naked boys that surrounded me, I never once questioned nor felt any insecurity in my heterosexuality.  Maybe it was the fact that I had known some of the boys from middle school.  Anyways, when your team had arrived that spring afternoon...I don’t know how to describe it.  Something…I don’t know how to put it in words…”  Seijuro had turned a crimson red with a blush as he looked at his friend.

 

“In one of my classes, Sexual Psychology, one of the professors cleverly stated that sexuality is not black or white, or red and blue, any two distinct colors that form something else when mixed.  You clearly must’ve transitioned to a red violet state, if red is to represent heterosexuality and blue is to represent homosexuality,” said Makoto.

“Yeah…well put,” said Sei.  “I had a few lustful fantasies about you, but I thought I’d scare you away.  Apparently my tastes run in the family.”

“What do you mean?” asked Makoto.

“My younger sister Tomiko told me she has thought of you in a passionate way…and so has Momo.”

“Momo?!” said Makoto with widened eyes.  “No wonder he acted strange whenever we were in the same room or on Skype video chats!”  Makoto and Momo were good friends even before the latter went to Samezuka due to Makoto’s periodic visits to Sei’s house.  The Mikoshiba family lived a few miles north of Tottori city and it was about a 25 minute train ride to Iwatobi.  Samezuka Academy itself was still in the Iwatobi town itself, but at the very northern limits and a six minute train ride from the Iwatobi Station.  Seijuro and Momo usually left Friday afternoon to go home and returned Sunday evening before curfew. 

“Yeah, I was kinda surprised myself,” said Seijuro with a laugh. 

“I wanted to ask you, Sei.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you…uh…ever wanted to go out with me?  Since you stated that.”

“I’m not gonna lie, Makoto.  I don’t wanna hurt your feelings, either, so just hear me out.  Have I wanted to?  Yes.  But I honestly don’t believe us becoming a couple would be for the best.  I have fucked up in the past with both relationships and friendships and it’s done nothing but trouble.  You’re the most understanding of them all.  I feel like if we got together, I would inevitably do something that could change the way you view me forever.  And I don’t wanna lose you.  The person who dates you should be someone who is suffering and needs a friendly shoulder to cry on.”  He internally cursed himself for using the word ‘shoulder’.  “You’ve been such a good friend to me and pretty much have served as my personal therapist.  But I want to return the favor to you.  I want to be your go-to person if you have problems with your future partner.  Please try to understand.  Please?”

 Makoto stared with a blank expression for a few seconds.  Sei gulped, anticipating the worse.  After a few seconds of awkward silence, a warm smile appeared on Makoto’s face.

“I believe every single word of you and I think it may be for the best.  I would hate for us to later regret the decision.  But still.  I wish I could feel your touch.”

“I have the perfect idea.  You’ll be wishing Saturday was already here,” said Sei.  “I got a surprise for you.  I’ll come by your apartment at noon on Saturday.  How about that?”

“Sounds good,” said Makoto.  “Any set plans?”

“Nope.  But nothing scary.  I promise, dude.”

“Good.  What are you gonna do in the meanwhile?  Your shift doesn’t start in a few hours, right?”

“Yeah.  Let’s go share some takoyaki.  I pay.”

Makoto merely smiled and the two boys left the locker room.

Many hours later……….

The sound of running water echoed across the apartment.  Sousuke was disrobed and lying against the tiled wall of the tub-shower combo with his left hand on his shoulder.  He had managed to clean up the entire apartment, but now his shoulder was acting up even more.  He winced and cried with tears rolling down his face as he whimpered due to the indescribable pain.  Sousuke took a syringe out of his backpack and filled it up with a minute amount clear liquid.

“Sousuke?” rang Seijuro’s voice as he entered the apartment.  He saw that the place had been immaculate and smiled.  He heard the water running and went to the bathroom door.  “Sousuke?”  No response, and the door was locked.  He said his name several times but still nothing.  Seijuro got a lockpick out of a drawer in the kitchen and immediately unlocked it and saw that Sousuke was about to pull the plunger on the syringe. 

“Sousuke!” screamed Seijuro as he barged in the room disregarding the fact Sousuke was naked and went to a gasping Sousuke. “What the fuck are you doing?!  Are you trying to kill yourself?!”

“No...but if I didn’t have this medicine, I would,” said Sousuke as he injected about five mL’s of it.

Sei looked at it.  “Is this…morphine?”

“No; it’s an analgesic drug-a painkiller-that works similarly to oxycodone, but it’s not as addictive nor is it as effective.  I have had this for several months, but since I can’t get a refill, I had to use it sparingly for the worst of pains.  It also helps me fall asleep.”

“Does it help any?”

“Let’s say that I go from ‘so much pain I want to put a bullet in my head to end it’ to ‘it’s so relatively low I can tolerate it’,” said Sousuke.  “Because I take such low qualities, I’m never completely pain-free, but instead go to a level of pain at a much less severe level.”

“Oh, thank God,” said Seijuro as he wiped his brow.  “But tell me; why the hell are you going on like this?  You should get help, ASAP.  It’s not gonna heal itself if—“

“Leave me the fuck alone, dammit!!” shouted Sousuke with anger as he resumed crying.  “It’s none of your fucking business, you freak!”

Seijuro was about to lose his cool, but he didn’t.  But Sousuke was right to a degree; Sei was getting a little bit into Sousuke’s business.

“Yeah, um…” Sei continued awkwardly at the embarrassed, crying, and completely naked Sousuke.  “I guess you have things under control, eh?  Sorry for interrupting, but I wanted to congratulate you on a good job.  I’ll light some candles I bought in order to freshen the area and I will go ahead and take the garbage out.”

“Uh, thanks,” said Sousuke.

Sei rolled his eyes and opened a can of beer.  Man, was Sousuke a bag of angst.

“I’m sorry!” wailed Sousuke to Seijuro, causing the red-head to spit his drink out in shock.  “I’m sorry to lose my temper and I’m such a fucking disgrace!”

Sei went back to the bathroom and opened the door to see Sousuke hugging his knees.  Sei turned off the hot water and went to Sousuke.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said to Sousuke as he gently massaged his shoulder.  Sousuke appreciated it and calmed down and Sei wrapped him in a bro hug.  “Clearly something else is going on besides your shoulder.”

“There is—rejection,” said Sousuke as he wiped his face.  “I have a broken heart and a lost friend.  I’m so lonely and so scared.”

“D-do you wanna talk about it?”

“No, you wouldn’t understand,” replied Sousuke.

“Does it involve Matsuoka?”

“Yeah.”

“It might help if you talked to someone like Tachibana Mak-“ started Sei before being interrupted.

“And what?  Let him blab to Rin where I am and what happened to me?  Not a chance!”

“Have you even talked to Makoto?” asked Seijuro.  “He’s such a sweet angel.  He’s studying psychology and has done internships and got experience firsthand.”

“Suits a wimpy little bitch like him,” scoffed Sousuke.  “He’s too damn passive and needs to grow a fucking pair of balls; fend for himself for once and stay out of people’s business.”

“Don’t you dare speak about him like that, you hear me?!” shouted Sei and got up in Sousuke’s face with a death glare and wrapped a hand around Sousuke’s neck. 

 

Despite the fact that Sousuke gave Seijuro an equally frightening death glare, Sousuke was honestly a coward deep down inside and used the expression as a front. “He’s my best friend and…so help me God, if you dare hurt him, physically or mentally, I will hurt you somewhere so badly that it’ll make that shoulder feel like nothing!!  Do you understand me?!!”

Seijuro successfully managed to scare Yamazaki Sousuke, an extremely difficult task to do.  Sousuke’s death glare vanished and looked like he was about to cry.  He nodded and Seijuro let go of his neck.  If Rin was the scariest person Sousuke had angered, he would be lying big time.  The way Seijuro was glaring at him could pierce the weakest of hearts in a microsecond and probably make most badass wannabes cry.  And it worked.  Sousuke began to bury his face into his arms that were resting on his knees and started crying.

By no means was Sei a sadist; he was overly protective of Makoto and any other family member and the crying instantly extinguished his anger. 

“I-I’m so sorry, Sousuke,” said Seijuro.  “I…I don’t know what came over me….”

“I’m such a fucking mess.  I don’t want to be alone.  That baby is the only individual that made me feel like I actually am worth something when my embrace stopped her crying.  She’s so innocent…can’t judge me for what I’ve done…and I can’t imagine her growing up in an orphanage where she could be abused.”

“You’re just suffering,” said Sei.  “I promise it will get better if you let me and Makoto help you.  Please?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you and almost strangulated you.”

“I’m sorry for saying those unnecessary words.  I’m just describing him in my own way with what Kisumi, his pink-haired friend, has told me.”

“You shouldn’t be alone, Sousuke; Makoto has said a lot about how he’s worried about you.  He said Matsuoka is worried, too.”

“I’ll handle things when I’m ready.”  He winced at the pain in his shoulder.

“You need therapy; both mental and physical if you ever wanna get a hold of that baby,” advised Sei.  “There’s no way you could foster a child in your state.  You’re a total wreck, no offence.”

“I feel like one, but I don’t have money for p.t.,” Sousuke said.  “Too expensive.”

“Do your parents even know what’s become of you?  If they don’t, they must be worried sick.”

“I don’t wanna tell them while I’m like this.  I’d rather let them know when I’m in a much better state and this is all behind me.”

“If you insist.”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Can I get access to a computer?  If I am to look for a job, I need access to one.  I need to support myself and get back on my feet again as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, of course.  I have a friend who’s a computer science major and makes computers for the hell of it.  He owes me a favor and I’ll text him in a few minutes.  And I hope you’re hungry; got us a little something on the table when you get out.”

“Good; I’m starving and I didn’t want to be rude by eating your food,” admitted Sousuke. 

“I wouldn’t have minded, but I appreciate your honesty,” said Sei.  “I’ll give you your privacy.”

 

In about ten minutes, Sousuke finished his shower-bath and got dressed to see that there was a small barbeque pork pizza and a can of cola.  Sei had gotten himself a can of lime Pocket Sweat and two plates. 

“I didn’t know what type you preferred, but I assumed you liked pork a lot and got that,” said Sei as he handed two slices to Sousuke and two for himself.

“Actually, this is my favorite type of pizza,” chuckled Sousuke as he tasted the warm food.  Pizza was actually one of his top five favorite foods, but he always cursed at how expensive it was.  “Any word about the baby?”

“Improving.  I got to tell the main supervisor and he said that in order to see the baby, you’ll need to submit a background check and make sure you are sterile.”

Sousuke’s eyes widened and looked down at his lap.  He lifted a finger and was about to talk, but Sei held his sides and laughed at an inappropriately loud volume.

“Not like that.  Free from bacteria.”

“Oh,” said Sousuke.  He laughed in embarrassment, too.  “That makes more sense.”

The two of them remained silent and finished the pizza.  Sei took the fourteen 100-liter garbage bags to ten the nearby dumpster and was through in about ten minutes.  He saw that Sousuke was playing Sei’s PS4 while listening to his iPod.  Video games were one of Sousuke’s favorite leisure activities he did when he was unable to train due to illnesses or bad weather.  After playing Far Cry 4 for about 30 minutes, Sousuke went out like a light.  Sei picked up Sousuke and tucked him into the guest bed and shut the door.

 

Fun fact:

The boys of this story all decided to submit what they felt their personalities could be summed up with well-known songs or by well-known singers from the 80s and 90s (both male and female) that came from their iPod.  Note: They mostly  like pop and rock cause they're dorks. lmao

Sousuke: Runaway-Bon Jovi, Against All Odds-Phil Collins, Looking In and I Don’t Wanna Cry-Mariah Carey

Makoto:  Don’t You (Forget About Me)-Simple Minds, Where Does My Heart Beat Now-Céline Dion, Somebody’s Somebody-Christina Aguilera, How am I Supposed to Live Without You-Michael Bolton, Every Breath You Take-The Police, Someone for Me-Whitney Houston,

Seijuro: I’m Too Sexy-Right Said Fred, Self Control-Laura Branigan, Don’t You Want Me-Human League, Fantasy-Mariah Carey

Kisumi: Careless Whisper-George Michael.  That’s his only song. Lmao.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to decide how SouMako will interact. Also, yes, it may look like it's turning into SeiMako, but they will share a one time thing for stress relief. The story will change to explicit very soon because of them. And cause of future smut. c;


End file.
